Spring Equinox

The Sacred Marriage:

The Spring Equinox celebrates both Earth and Sun, both growth and light. At this point in the solar calendar, the length of daylight equals the length of the night – the male sun balances out the female moon. After the Equinox, the balance will shift in favor of the growing Sun as he begins to make the day longer than the night.
In the lunar calendar that relates to the seasons, the Equinox also signals an important phase for the female Earth for this is the time she opens herself, ready to receive the new seed and to bring forth the plant life that has overwintered inside her. The month of April, which arrives shortly after the Equinox, derives its name from the Latin aperio, to open (as in the word aperture).
At the Spring Equinox, different threads from the solar and seasonal calendars are woven together into a single strand….daylight is equal to darkness, so the God and Goddess make a well-matched couple.
From The Magickal Year by Diana Ferguson

Valentine Fever

Throughout human history, roses have played an important role in expressing the language of love, passion, commitment and desire.- excerpt from 2013 Rose Wall Calendar.

According to tradition, this is the day when the birds choose their mates for the year. It is also the day for the blossoming of love between young women and men, and so introduces the theme of love-making and magical fertility rites that begins in February, and gathers in strength throughout Spring, continuing right through to May Day.
Valentine’s Day is named after a Christian saint, but just who he was is not clear, for there is more than one contender for the title. One Valentine was a Roman priest who was imprisoned for helping persecuted Christians, and who became a Christian himself. Although he restored the sight of his jailor’s blind daughter, he was still martyred…. on February 14, 269. Another Valentine was also a Christian martyr who, before his death, scratched a message to his beloved on the wall of his cell, ending with the words “Your Valentine.”
As a festival of love, Valentine’s Day has powerful associations with two Roman love fests. The first is the sacred day of Juno Februata, the patroness of the “fever” of love, at the beginning of February…. Then on February 15, there is Lupercalia, a festival of purification and fertility in honor of Faunus, or Lupercus, a rustic fertility god.
- From The Magical Year by Diana Ferguson

More on Embolc…

My apologies for posting a little late. February 1st was the Pagan holiday of Imbolc. That’s become an important day at our house over the years, partly because I have a lifelong fascination with holiday lore and partially because it’s a great opportunity to let the cycle of the season be our teacher – as it once was to our forbearers. You can read lots of things about Imbolc online, and I personally recommend two favorite books of holiday lore: The Magical Year by Diane Ferguson, Kindling the Celtic Spirit by Mara Freeman.

This image is featured in the Celtic Mandala, earth mysteries and mythology 2013 Wall Calendar. Selkie by Jen Delyth © 2007/2008

It is said that if the year is a woman, then Imbolc is the youthful maiden. To my mind Imbolc is about newness, youth, new growth, the first budding of spring. We’re definitely seeing those first signs here in Portland: the first buds, the first Snowdrops, and the very first blossoms on the trees.

One of the inspirations in my life around holiday lore is to use the changing season and our encounter with them as soul-crafting activities. For Imbolc we make corn dolls and set them out on the fireplace mantle surrounded by white or yellow candles. We burn white and yellow candles to symbolize purity and innocence. Just before bedtime we put our corn dolls in a basket by the front door, as a blessing to all who enter our house. We rest them on a blanket and cover them for warmth and set animal figures around them. This year it was a unicorn.

Another favorite activity is placing an article of clothing or an important item outside to be blessed by the goddess Brigit as she passes in the night. Again there’s a lot to read about Brigit, but to my mind she appears as an inspiring archetype and heroic example, as in Greek legends. She is the triple goddess of poetry, smithcraft and healing. Smithcraft is variously referred to as craft in general or wonderfully by Ms. Freeman as the ‘magical art of change.’

Happy Belated Imbolc!

From Tim Campbell – and all the Lotites

Dance for life!

For centuries, dance manuals and other writings have lauded the health benefits of dancing, usually as physical exercise. More recently we’ve seen research on further health benefits of dancing, such as stress reduction and increased serotonin level, with its sense of well-being.

Then most recently we’ve heard of another benefit: Frequent dancing apparently makes us smarter. A major study added to the growing evidence that stimulating one’s mind can ward off Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia, much as physical exercise can keep the body fit. Dancing also increases cognitive acuity at all ages. Read more from Stanford University’s Richard Powers: http://socialdance.stanford.edu/syllabi/smarter.htm

There are shortcuts to happiness, and dancing is one of them.